BOARD REJECTS CHALLENGE TO NOVEMBER ELECTION

C O N F I D E N T I A L ANKARA 006263 SIPDIS DEPARTMENT FOR EUR/SE E.O. 12958: DECL: 10/06/2008 TAGS: PGOV PREL PHUM TU SUBJECT: BOARD REJECTS CHALLENGE TO NOVEMBER ELECTION RESULTS REF: A. ANKARA 6122 ¶B. ANKARA 5848 Classified by Acting Polcouns C.O. Blaha; reasons 1.5 b and d. ¶1. (U) As expected (reftels) Turkey's High Election Board (YSK) voted 6-1 October 4 to reject appeals calling for a reallocation of seats in Parliament or an annulment of the November 2002 national election results. Several parties and individuals filed the appeals following a September 29 Supreme Appeals Court ruling upholding a conviction against leaders of the Democratic People's Party (DEHAP) for election-related fraud (reftels). The most significant of the appeals was filed by the True Path Party (DYP),which stood a chance of entering Parliament with 66 seats if the YSK had ruled to invalidate DEHAP's November votes. ¶2. (U) YSK rulings cannot be appealed within the Turkish judicial system. DYP Vice Chairman Oguz Tezmen told us October 6 that the party is disappointed with the YSK ruling, but respects it. Tezmen said some former DYP MPs will likely appeal the ruling to the European Court of Human Rights, but will do so as individuals rather than representatives of the party. He said DYP is not planning any further legal challenges to the November election results. ¶3. (C) Comment: Some opponents of the ruling AK Party supported DYP's efforts to gain seats in Parliament in the belief that this would cut into AK's majority. But AK leaders' boasts that they would respond to a reallocation of seats by calling early elections and increasing their majority were credible -- several polls show AK support has risen since the elections. Moreover, YSK members, a number of political figures, pundits from across the political spectrum, and academics said publicly and privately that a reallocation of parliamentary seats would lead to chaos. A leading YSK member indicated to us that he questioned the validity of the charges against DEHAP, and noted that the YSK had determined prior to the elections that the charges did not justify barring DEHAP barred from participating (reftel B). EDELMAN